Edinburgh Airports incoming chief, Jim OSullivan, previously spent 14 years at British Airways, including time as chief project engineer for the Boeing 777, general manager of Concorde, and ultimately as technical and quality director.

More recently he worked in operational and executive roles with National Grid, Welsh Water and EON.

OSullivan, said : "Kevin has done a fantastic job in his tenure at Edinburgh.

"It has bucked the general trend in UK aviation by growing and it is currently best airport in Europe for its size.

"I hope that I can continue its development and assist the team in realising the growth strategy they have created and giving Edinburgh and Scotland what it deserves: a diverse choice of routes and a world-class facility."

Edinburgh Airport is now Scotlands busiest hub, recording 918,000 passengers in June, a rise of more than seven per cent on a year earlier and its forth consecutive month of record traffic growth.

This compares with Glasgow Airport, which saw 702,800 passengers in June, up 2.6 per cent on a year earlier while Aberdeen passenger traffic rose 10 per cent to 287,800.

BAA lost its final Competition Commission sell-off ruling in July, meaning the Spanish-owned airport operator must sell London Stansted and either Edinburgh of Glasgow Airports.